1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pen input method and device for a pen computing system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, devices such as a computer, a PDA, and a mobile communication terminal use a physical keypad for inputting text, data, instructions, etc. Recently, in user interfacing methods of such information terminals, a touch screen panel (TSP) is implemented as an object-oriented input of user information. The touch screen panel is currently used as a useful input device in small-sized information terminals such as a PDA or a mobile communication terminal. Inputting user information through the touch screen panel increases the user's convenience significantly, compared with the inputting of user information through the conventional portable terminal's keypad.
In order to serve as information processing equipment, a portable information terminal provides a function of a database, which is a set of data organized in a specific structure for receiving data from a user, storing the data, and providing the data. To this end, conventional portable information terminals provide a database in which entry fields of a fixed size are arranged at fixed positions in a form having a specific format. Such a portable information terminal including a database having fixed-size entry fields was disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,276,794 entitled “POP-UP KEYBOARD SYSTEM FOR ENTERING HANDWRITTEN DATA INTO COMPUTER GENERATED FORM”, patented to Arthur C. Lamb, Jr., et al. on Jan. 4, 1994. This prior art describes that a keyboard having a format suitable for each of entry fields of a database pops up and the keyboard includes various kinds of key button regions and display regions.
However, the prior art has the following problems.
First, because the database of the portable information terminal is provided with a specified-format form having a plurality of entry fields whose arrangement and size is fixed, even if an unnecessary entry field exists in the form, the user must use the form as it is, without removing the unnecessary entry field. In this case, because the portable information terminal has a display portion that is relatively small in size, it is usually necessary for the user to use a scroll key, etc., in order to find a target entry field, thereby causing the user inconvenience.
In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 4, when the user handwrites information using an input device such as a stylus 14 on the touch screen panel, the fixed size of the entry field 16a, 16p, and 16q limits the allowable handwriting space, and when the stroke is made outside of the entry field, the handwritten data fails to be correctly recognized. Further, generating of a pop-up window for data entry or a pop-up keyboard associated with the data entry field lowers the processing speed of the portable information terminal and also increases the load of a processor.